Synergistic effect and kinetic analysis of catalytic co-pyrolysis of waste cotton swabs and non-woven masks

In the context of the COVID-19, the co-pyrolysis of waste cotton swabs and non-woven masks is a promising way of biomass utilization. On the one hand, it alleviates the energy crisis to some extent, and on the other hand, it is conducive to the proper disposal of medical waste. In this paper, the pyrolysis process and kinetic behavior of two materials under different conditions including mixing ratios, heating rates and catalyst additions were studied. The results show that the heating rate has little effect on the pyrolysis process. Mask has better pyrolysis performance than cotton swabs and could promote the decomposition of biomass as an auxiliary material. All the blends show a certain synergistic effect. The difference between the actual mass loss and the theoretical mass loss (delta W) is positive and the activation energy is lower than that of any single component. The addition of catalyst can further promote the pyrolysis reaction, and the residual mass is greatly reduced. This paper aims to provide some suggestions for further exploration in related fields.